T<$>HOSE who think the business world is in a constant state of flux may not have taken a close look at the travel industry lately.Mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, bankruptcies . . . you name it. Odds are not unlikely your favourite resort may now answer to a different name, so fast-paced is today’s hotel scene.

The growing emphasis continues to be on luxury travel and there seems to be absolutely no end in sight. Some examples . . .

A few years ago a passenger, who actually made her home on the QEII<$>, was featured on national news as she happily shuttled around the world in a comfortable stateroom. She left ship only to spend holidays with landlocked family. It was considered so revolutionary it became newsworthy.

Around the same time, Northwestern University completed a study proclaiming the feasibility of ships as headquarters for active retirement.

Apparently the whole idea has been a great success. The World, which was built four years ago exclusively as a sort of seagoing floating condominium exploring distant corners of the globe, has inspired others to do the same.

It’s an interesting concept, a sort of combination home purchase, timeshare and perpetual cruise, however one cares to work out the details.

There’s also the possibility of renting one of its 165 units when an owner decides to stay on land for a while.Four Seasons Ocean Residences will feature 110 residences varying in size from 800-square-foot, one-bedroom units costing $2.5 million, to a three-storey, 7,000-square-foot penthouse at more than $25 million.The ship, scheduled to be launched in 209, will be 48,000 tons, 720 feet long and 12 decks high.

Also joining this very exclusive lifestyle will be $750 million Magellan<$>. It will come complete with private Bell helicopters on call for owners, plus a retractable marina. A one-month ownership of a two-bedroom apartment will start around $156,000. Those who want full ownership can expect to pay between close to $2 million upwards to $8 million. Would it surprise you to learn a number have already been sold on those ships not even yet launched? And two more such ships are already on drawing boards.

For those who prefer to be more landlocked, the appeal of renting a village in some exciting location continues high on popularity polls. Tuscany still ranks among the most glamorous of those destinations.

Imagine a historic property set on a quiet hill beside an olive grove or vineyard. Just down the tree-lined lane is a vintage village with mediaeval roots there before Columbus set sail for the New World.

Every morning you stroll down that lane for a leisurely cappuchino, perhaps lunch at an outdoor cafe, savouring a local bottle of wine and a view that makes you feel like you’ve entered a time machine.

You’re in fabled Tuscany where we’ve enjoyed just such moments in magical places such as Lucca and Tarquinia in the neighbouring region.

Add a cooking class revealing secrets of Italian cuisine and you have one of the most sought-after dream trips of the year. We’ve certainly enjoyed it, so have friends who ended up buying just such a villa.

And I should add, all the complications of absentee ownership that they moaned about with lament. Both worked at the Chicago Tribune, one as an editor, and their experiences sounded like a replay of A Year In Provence<$>, the story of an Englishman’s purchase of a French villa.

My ophthalmologist is the most recent to succumb to Tuscany’s charms. He was intrigued enough with this summer’s visit to consider buying one, but decided renting is less complicated.

But such adventures carry hefty price tags because everything is done for you . . . from first of all discovering the appropriate property to fit your taste, then onward from pre-stocking your refrigerator to seeing lights are on when you arrive. Your travel agents can handle all the arrangements.

You don’t need 20-20 vision to enjoy Italy’s beauty, but it seemed to attract both my vision specialists this year. My retina doctor also took his family there on vacation. As an expert in his field, lecturing and research around the world have given him platinum frequent flier status.On my annual autumn check-up, he expressed dissatisfaction with American Airlines’ inability to get them there in business class using mileage for upgrades. Like many fliers, he’s finding upgrades aren’t there for even the most loyal frequent fliers any more and was very disenchanted.Although its passage is considered unlikely, Italy’s new Prime Minister is suggesting a tax of five euros a day on tourists. That’s about $6.25. It’s thought parliament will frown on the idea. If not, visitors might pool together a collection and send them off to a spa to give their brain cells a thorough cleansing in some of those curative waters.

It does reach a point where piling on taxes does meet with resistance and resentment. It’s one thing to hear a room or car rate quoted at one price, then pay the final bill and see it’s so far from what’s expected.

Yes, I suspect we’re all alike in that regard. Paying $2,400 for an overnight Amtrak bedroom from Chicago to Grand Junction, Colorado seemed good dollar value. There’s very limited space available and the cost of running the railroad ever increasing.

But ten per cent overnight room tax in a Grand Junction Hilton property seemed excessive and unwarranted. It’s got so that areas are using tourist taxes as an easy way to pay for football stadiums, parking garages, you name it. There comes a time when the traveller draws the line and goes elsewhere.

The emphasis on luxury travel also continues full speed ahead. It’s not enough these days to take an Alaska cruise or stay at nice four-star hotels along the way, pre- or post-tour.These<$> days it’s more likely a fly-in to some remote, difficult-of-access wilderness lodges with an overly hefty price tag. They’re springing up in increasing numbers, definitely designed for those who truly want to get away from it all and are willing to pay accordingly.Even the once conservative National Trust for Historic Preservation has pulled out all the stops on its offerings. Not only are itineraries ever more exciting, but so is how it gets there.

An example is the March 18-April 9, 2007 private 757 “Jet To The World’s Sacred Places”. Sent to us as members, it explores the world’s great religions, covering three continents in 23 days.

Labelled a “life-changing experience”, it starts in Rome, continues to Jerusalem, Varanasi, India — then Japan’s Kyoto and Nara. There’s a stop in Lhasa, Tibet, the Sikh shrine at Amritsar, India; Lalibella, Ethiopia’s 11 rock-hewn churches, Cairo, Yerevan, Armenia, and finally Istanbul before returning to Rome.

Space is limited to 88 guests and there’s no price in its brochure, probably to avoid giving prospective travellers cardiac arrest.

In a few weeks we’ll cover some of the truly exotic and unique ports being visited by luxury yacht-like ships that carry pampered cruisers to them in exceptional luxury. And what sells out first? The largest suites, unlike a dozen years ago, when they were last to sell.Partly responsible for the boom in super luxury spas, ever larger suites and increasingly exotic travel are trends impacting the way some people choose to live, even when they can’t afford it.

There was a time when people had other priorities when it came to spending their money . . . buying home, paying mortgages, car loans, credit card payments, and so on, but in recent years each generation seems to exceed the other in spending habits. Obviously, many can easily afford such trips, but others, just climbing up the success ladder, have other priorities.

As someone with an economics school background, those trends are always intriguing. Recent university studies covering 40 years of research show many retired parents have decided to travel in ultra style rather than leave large estates for their children.

That was certainly the case of one couple we met over dinner on our recent Amtrak California Zephyr trip.

“We’re spending down, doing nothing but travelling grand luxe, and all we intend to hold on to is one of our homes,” confided a North Carolinian of obvious means, but unpleasant disposition. His pleasant, but very subdued wife had obviously not been consulted about that decision. What seemed comfortable for boomers’ parents now seems inadequate for their offspring who prefer to live in the moment and forget about tomorrow. Even when their travel agent can show them dream catalogues of fulfilling, comfortably priced trips, they opt to splurge.

A recent poll of ten major adventure companies found it not unusual for some of their young travellers to spend from $5,000 to $9,000 per person on an exotic trip.

At a summer sidewalk sale in my village, while viewing an antique jewellery display, I met a fortyish woman who had just returned from Cunard’s 100-plus-days-around-the-world cruise.

She blithely announced they’d reserved a two-storey suite and taken out a home-equity loan to pay for it. Hmmm. Even Economics 101 wouldn’t approve.

At Whitefish, Montana’s North Forty Resort, it was routine to see twentyish couples with very small children occupying the most expensive cottages while their now comfortable parents were probably off camping. As they say: “It’s a sign of the times.”

[obox] Next week: Early snow pleases enthusiasts

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